BMOC 2 Stronger Than Hate More Powerful Than Love
by David D. Amaya
Summary: In the second installment of the Big Mutant On Campus Series, the fallout from "First Day of school" continues for one of the new Academy arrivals, meanwhile the Generation X kids learns the unique bond that binds an equally eclectic family.
1. Chapter 1

**The "Big Mutant On Campus" Series**  
**By David D. Amaya**

_**Part Two "Stronger Than Hate, More Powerful Than Love"**_  
**_Chapter 1_**

_**Disclaimer: As always; the first step of the journey.**_

* * *

The hour is getting late in the Massachusetts Range of the Berkshire Mountains. And as such the X-Men, and Vice Admiral Thomas Kaulalona, all must depart the Massachusetts Academy for their respective homes, so the process of saying good-bye begins.

"Aloha au iã 'oe, makuakane!"

"Aloha au iã 'oe, kaikamahine!" The Admiral gave his daughter a great big hug and a kiss, then hugs to Nathan, Stewart and Jason. "You know, I'm actually going to miss all that racket you guys make."

"Well, when you are at those missile tests, think of us!" Nathan replied.

"Just remember," Jay added. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Iakona, the things you **WOULD** do, would get _me_ tossed in the brig!"

"So long, mon ami," Gambit said as he ruffled the hair on Cyrus' head. "Now you just remember what 'dis ol' Cajon taught you, so far," Then he leaned in close and whispered. _"An' don't forget what we talked about when you guys come to New York!"_

"You got it, Remy!"

"Now that Jubilee is here you can bet the practical joke level will rise like a balloon around here, bub," Wolverine tells Kordel taping his tie with an outstretched finger. "But, if anything happens to her, or the rest of the kids here," **SKINT** "you an' me is gonna have a little session in the woodshed!" a claw then rips an expensive tie just above the tie-tac. "GOT IT, G-MAN!"

Special Agent Nichols just looks down at the remains of his favorite Armani tie, then looks down at the mutant eye-to-eye.

"Do not threaten me, Logan. _She also told me where you park your motorcycle!"_

"Logan, Kordel!" Ororo warm-heartedly interjected. "It would be in the best interest of the students to set a good example!"

"Yes, gentlemen," Alea added grabbing Stewart by the cheeks and softly shaking his head. _"you'll warp our fragile little minds!"_ bringing a well-placed chuckle.

--

Outside, by the Blackbird, three figures sit on the gangplank. Each of them hoping this day would come quickly, everything they have done in the past year leading to this very moment. Now that moment has sprung upon them, and the emotions are hanging among them like a heavy fog.

"Well, guys, I guess I'm back home," Jubilee says as her feet dangles from the ramp of the Blackbird. "I know this is what we wanted - I wanted- and all that," She fights back a sniffle. "I mean I belong here, with my friends."

"I know, Sweetie," Jean places her arm around her. "Just like last time."

"Just remember, Jubilee," Scott also places am arm around the teenager they lived with the past year. "We're only a phone call away. If you need help with your homework…"

"Or just want to gossip…"

"Or _anything,_ you call us."

"Thanks, _'Mom,' 'Dad,'_" Then she places her arms around both of the X-Men and squeezed a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you guys so much!"

Letting go, Scott climbed aboard the jet and prepared it for the return flight to New York, as the rest of the X-Men exited the academy foyer, ready to return home as well, and say their good-byes to Jubilee.

"Well, kiddo," Logan says between puffs of his cigar. "Looks like Emma, G-Man, and Sean gots everything under control, so we're headed back to Chuck and the rest of the gang. Just stay out of trouble."

"**ME**? in _trouble_? Oh, what possibly do you _mean_ by that comment, Wolvie?"

Ororo and Remy both chuckled softly at the young hero's remark. Then Jubilee gave him one last hug. "You stay on the straight and narrow, Wolvmister! I'm gonna be fine here, besides, I gots ta break in five more kids to Gen-X, right?"

Hugs and kisses to Ororo and Remy, then the X-Men lifted off and flew off towards New York. She waved to the departing Blackbird as it disappeared from view.

While the other academy students remained inside to allow her a private farewell, Paige, Jono, Angelo, Arite, Leech and Monet came out to re-join their friend and classmate.

_You all right, Luv?_

"Yea, Jono, I'll be okay."

"It's good to have our carnala back!"

"_Muchas gracias._ It's great to be back, Homeboy."

"I am glad that you have returned to us as well, Jubilee."

"Thanks, M."

Artie projects a large red heart.

"Artie says he missed you. Leech missed you, too."

"Oh, I missed you little guys, too," she said as she knelt to hug both boys. "Hell, I missed all you guys a whole bunch! Hey, anyone seen, Penny?"

"She's been hiding in the Biosphere, We couldn't find her this morning, Jubes."

"Don't worry, Hayseed. I'll be able to find her. Come on gang! Let's get out of the cold and join the new kids inside!"

So as a group they re-entered their home as the family they are, joining Emma and Sean, as well as four new brothers, a sister and a gun-slinging uncle.

"Now that the reunion is over, we still have a few chores that need to be attended to."

"Now that there was no clear cut winner in the biosphere-"

"We felt it fair if ALL of you clean up the kitchen and Dinning Room."

Before there the throngs of protest, Jason pointed a finger at them.

"Wait a second, YOU **KNEW**."

"Of course we knew, Mr. Delano."

"Well then why didn't anyone tell me what was happening, _**BEFORE**_ I STARTED TO BUST UP ESPINOSA!"

"We didn't realize it would have mattered. It was a supposed to be a harmless welcoming."

"**HARMLESS**, you wanted to toss my narrow ass out of here over some **STUPID FUCKING TRADITION!?**"

_Not now, Iakona! It's the wrong time to drag up this one again. Let's call this one off until tomorrow. If you are still pissed in the morning or they want to press the issue again, I'LL cuss them out._

_But 'Lea!_

_ For me, __**please,**__ Jay?_

"Sean," Agent Nichols interjected. "The point Mr. Delano is making is that the incident should have been avoided if he was told what was happening in the biosphere, or was barred from entering. If I had not drawn my weapon at him, he would have engaged Logan in a knife fight."

_**"AGENT NICHOLS!"**_ Emma began to fume, but Sean hedged her off before she exploded in front of the students.

"Students, will you please begin cleaning up the kitchen. We will be in a closed door meeting."

"All right Mr. Cassidy," Alea said aloud. _**NO, JASON! DON'T!**_ She sent telepathically defusing his boiling temper. "Come on everyone let's get this one done before breakfast."

--

Upon entering the kitchen, the original Gen-X students saw the remains of a nice dinner. But to the newcomers…

_**"WHISKEY-TANGO-FOXTROT!"**_ The Admiral's daughter exclaimed.

The sink had a pile of pots and pans more menacing than the approach of the Apocalypse, alongside the stacks of dishes, flatware, glasses, and mess which is the food prep area.

"This place looks as bad as the Mess Hall at Los Padrinos!" Jay offered up.

"Quel un cauchemar!" MacKenzie exclaimed. "It looks like we're gonna need Kryptonite to break up all the stuck-on crap!"

"I was going to say a large-yield nuke warhead," The President's son chimed in.

"Anyone else in the mood for an insurance fire?" McPherson asked the rest of the students.

"Easy guys," Alea told them after the initial shock wore off. "All we need is a little elbow grease," She replied as she rolled up her sleeves, then much the Admiral's daughter, began to take charge and doled out the assignments.

"Kewalaka, clean the table. Nakanaela, while he's doing that, start swabbing the deck. Paige, please put away the leftovers. Monet can clear the counters. Jono can clean the table after Stewart's finished clearing it off.

"I'll wash, Jason's on rinse & dry. 'Watt can separate the silverware. Angelo, can clean the stove and the prep areas and Jubilee can stow everything away."

"How come I gotta be on rinse and dry?"

"Because **I** can stick my hands in 250-degree boiling water so the food don't stick, _Smuck!_ Besides you get dish-pan-hands, Iakona!"

_Well, I'd like to know who died and left the new girl in charge?_

"Are you volunteering, Starsmore?" McPherson answered.

"Yea, Teabag," Jay cracked his knuckles menacingly. "We sure do get a kick out of volunteers!"

"Well I think Alea has the right idea," Paige said. "Well, Nathan, I'll show you where we keep the cleaning supplies. The dish soap dispenses automatically, Alea."

"Well, vamanos, let's get this over quickly," Angelo remarked. "The Lakers and Kings are gonna to throw down tonight and I don't wanna miss the game!"

--

As a mess was about to be cleaned in the kitchen, another mess was just unfolding in Emma Frost's office.

**"HOW **_**DARE**_** YOU!"** was the words she chose to use, almost as mad because she almost acted in an unprofessional manner in front of her students as she was after Special Agent Nichols told her and Sean what he _might_ have done in the biosphere that afternoon.

**"YOU WOULD HAVE FIRED YOUR WEAPON AT ONE OF **_**MY**_** STUDENTS!?"**

"Emma, calm down," Sean a veteran of her temper-driven outbursts. "He didn't know he was a student here."

"'_One of __**MY**__ students?'_" Kordel repeated. "Three hours ago you wanted him removed! What I saw at that time, was a person, who, after committing aggravated battery, pulled out a switchblade AFTER, shoulder-tossing _Wolverine_ of all people! If Mr. Delano was to have engaged him in a knife fight, just how was that situation going to end?"

"Logan's mutant ability affords him to heal rapidly," Emma informed Kordel, her eyes blazing bolts of electric hate at the federal officer. "He would not have been harmed by normal standards!"

Agent Nichols fixed a blue-eyed vice of rage of his own. "First of all you do not have to explain his abilities to **ME**, Ms. Frost! I witnessed him take over a thousand rounds of automatic fire at point-blank range!

"Second, since that last statement you made is true, then that fight would have left Logan mortally wounded and a dead kid at his feet. What was going to happen next? _His friends would have attacked Logan!_ Then what were the X-Men or the other students to do?

"I did as I was trained to; subdue the attacker, place them in control, secure the scene! If you noticed, I never needed to place him in wrist restraints. But I was able to halt hostilities until the situation stabilized. Perhaps Jubilee was right to intervene on Mr. Delano's behalf, one of them would have gone too far if they were not stopped by a member of the X-Men."

"So you are proud that you were able to stop a mutant without firing a shot, like the way you did with Remy and Dr. McCoy?"

Sean knew she had to have extracted that memory from Kordel as no one talked about that incident with her. Agent Nichols though visibly upset that ordeal was thrown in his face, simply removed the badge from his belt and slapped it on her Victorian-era desk and pushed it towards her.

"The motto of the Secret Service is _'Worthy of Trust and Confidence.'_ And for as long as I care to remember, I always wanted to become the person I can become proud of to live up to those words. But since the day I was given this badge of honor," He removed the tie-tack with the X-Men insignia and slapped it next to his badge. "I was entrusted with a duty _you cannot imagine!_ I must _kill_ my pride bit by bit.

"When I was reactivated, I looked the President in the eye, with the First Lady by his side and did the one thing I am not the least bit proud of.

"I told them a bold-faced **LIE** about the **TRUE HEROES** who risked _**MORE**_ than their lives to rescue a child they had yet to meet, and ever since I have traded a piece of my pride by lying about who will be instructing him in his use of his mutant gifts!"

"I am aware that the origins of this school is kept secret from the President, as it is with the _rest_ of the world. What is your _point_ Agent Nichols?"

"The point is I neither take pride in brandishing my sidearm and threatening the heroes who rescued the President's son, or keeping to myself the names of heroes who deserve better than to keep those heroic deeds to themselves!

"My point, Emma, is that I have become accustomed to do what I am not the least bit proud of, just so I can be proud of the man I see in a mirror." A beeping noise emanating from his wrist stopped his monolog. "Now if you excuse me, _I must kill off another piece of my pride._" He reached for his items then left the room with the hard grace of one who has total control of himself, then headed outside.

Closing the door to the office, Sean leaned his back against it and ran his hand through his hair in a detached motion, and then looking upon Emma he shook his head warning her off.

"Emma that was one of your better underhanded acts. I was there in the infirmary. He is doing his duty, but do'ne go thinking that having Agent Nichols here is a bad idea. The Parkman lad needs our instruction to harness his abilities. But the law requires he have Secret Service protection. You remember our meeting with the Director; the President and his family cannot refuse their protection!"

Emma just sat behind her desk, rage still in her eyes after Agent Nichols words.

"It is not that, Sean. If I were to have known that the agent the Secret Service would have entrusted Cyrus here with would not have mutant abilities-"

"Emma, is that the reason you're so upset? What he lacks in mutant abilities, he MORE than makes up in pure bravery and that's not to mention his skills and training. You heard what Professor Xavier told us of his meeting with Nick Fury last October.

"Captain America _HIMSELF_ helped prepare Agent Nichols to be a one-man army if need be, but I have trusted my life to him well before that, and I trust him with the lives of ALL our students!"

"But, Sean, how do you expect the students to respect him as an instructor here, if he is not a mutant?"

"The same way the X-Men did…

"…He **EARNED** our respect."

**

* * *

_End of Chapter one_**

_**©David D. Amaya 2008**_


	2. Chapter 2

**The "Big Mutant On Campus" Series**  
**By David D. Amaya**

_**Part Two "Stronger Than Hate, More Powerful Than Love"**_  
**_Chapter 2  
_**

* * *

The daunting task that is the post-meal kitchen miraculously is taken with surprising ease. Alea's ability to generate and tolerate excessive temperatures makes quick work of even the pots and pans while the rest of the students are finishing their assignments rapidly.

"So you guys," Jubilee breaks the noise of bustling dishes. "If you hated each other the day you met, like, how did the four of you end up living together?"

Three of the new students stopped what they were doing and each looked at the others with uneasy silence.

_**"Jay?"**_

Jason closed his eyes, put down the dish towel, and muttered what was easily several curse words.

"_Go ahead_, but I **never** want to hear another **DAMN** thing about this _**AGAIN!**_"

The Hawaiian took a deep breath and begun to tell that side of their story to the assembled Generation X while she continued to wash the last of the pots.

"Iakona wasn't been in New England for a few weeks when he was arrested for a traffic violation, the judge sentenced him to three hundred hours community service at Yale's Children's Hospital in New Haven, where, oddly enough, the three of us chose to do volunteer work.

"While we were there we meet a little girl from Hartford, Emily Rackman, who was hospitalized for a long time, We got to know her very well, I would read her Harry Potter books, Yoink would sit with her and watch Wolfpack games on TV, and Nuff would play video games with her. Of course what we didn't know was that Jay had met her also.

"Well, one fateful morning, the three of us were running late to see her, as we approached Emele's room we heard noises coming from inside. I opened the door to see Hûpô o nâ hûpô here with an olive branch on his head and a bed sheet wrapped around him in a toga…."

--

"…But Medea knew that her father was not going to allow Jason to just take the Golden Fleece," The storyteller continued to his solo onlooker. "So that night she led Jason to the sacred Garden of Ares, god of war. As they entered the Garden they saw where his prize was displayed, nailed to a great oak tree. In awe he stood and looked upon it, knowing that at last he looked upon the Golden Fleece. He went to seize the Fleece. As he did he heard a dreadful hiss. And then he saw the guardian of the Golden Fleece.

"Coiled all around the tree, with outstretched neck covered by hard and gleaming scales, was the sleepless dragon." The performer then mimicked the movements of the beast to the enthralled child, darting around her room, still unaware of the three at the doorway.

"It uncoiled, stretched itself, and lifted its head to strike. Then Medea uncorked a vial containing a powerful potion. When the dragon smelled the fumes from the potion, the serpent's jaws closed; its eyes became deadened; far through the grove its length was stretched out, it immediately fell asleep, and Jason was able to grab the Golden Fleece. Together they made off with the Fleece and escaped to the Argo. Setting sail at once, they eluded pursuit and returned to Thessaly. Thus Jason succeeded in his heroic challenge."

He took a deep bow to his audience of one, unaware of the onlookers who also applauded his performance.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Come on, Jay," Emily called out from her bed. "These are my friends. Jay, this is Alea, the big fella's called Nuff, and his cousin here is Yoink."

"I still would like to know why you call me Yoink, Emily." Stewart asked "What does that mean?"

"I keep telling you, I'll tell you when you're older!" The girl replied. "You're still a young man yet!"

"Well we've met, Emele," Alea told her. "Remember we told you about this guy."

Emily shot Alea a surprised look and pointed to Jason. "You mean this is the bully you're talking about that day!?" Then she turned to Jay and threw a pillow at him. "Jay you DUMB ASS!" she fumed, the R-Rated word sharply contrasted to her angelic youthfulness. "They're cool! WHY do you HAVE to be such a dick!?"

Jay taps a rigged finger at the little girl's chest. "You know you are the ONLY one to get to talk to me in such a way and live to see the sun rise on another dawn!"

"First of all," she pushed the finger away. "Don't EVER touch me without a note from your doctor! I don't know were that finger's been. Second, they don't look like the vicious thugs you described that day. If you're gonna tell fibs to '_a sweet innocent little girl,_' I'm gonna start callin' you Simba, 'cause you're _Lyin'_ to me!"

Nathan began to laugh at that remark, but Emily turned her verbal assault on the Alaskan. "Don't laugh, Nuff! Nurse Becka told me you asked her to download those codes for your 360 games! Is that the only way you can beat _'little old me?'_ at Gears Of War? Chester you's a _Cheat'ah!_"

"What's so surprising, Emily?" Jay interrupted. "He couldn't beat me two on one, what makes you think he can beat anyone on his own without cheating?"

Nathan got right in his face, and with his hands out of view reached out and grabbed the back of a metal folding chair, absorbing its tinsel strength. "Any time you want a rematch, Asshole!"

"You're lucky we're inside a hospital already, cause when I'm done with you, you'll turn this place into a Fortune 500 company!"

Emily grabs a metal bed pan and bangs it on the bedside table.

"**Hey, Hey, **_**HEY**_**!** If the two of you are going to beat the shit out of each other, at least let me invite the rest of the kids on this floor to watch! We don't get the NFL Network! The nurse's make us watch that stupid American Idol crap, I can't stand that British video-director jackoff!"

Jay and Nathan both took their eyes off each other to look at Emily, then all five of them broke out in laughter.

The laughter continued until Emily began to cough violently. Jason was at her side holding her down. _"You!"_ he pointed to Stewart, _"Get a nurse!"_ Who then flew out of the room. Suddenly Emily's body went limp and the instruments monitoring her vital signs blared an alarm.

"Shit she's not breathing!" He immediately begins rescue breathing to his audience. _"You!"_ he blurts out between breaths to Alea, _"Get me the respirator kit!"_ She opens a clear case bolted on a wall and tosses Jason the resuscitation bag, who places it over the young girl's face and squeezes it forcing precious air into her lungs, until another alarm, the most ominous one, went off. _"Her heart! You!"_ Now yelling at Nathan. _"Crash Cart GO!"_

As Nathan sprinted out the door, Jason straddled the bed and began to give the 10-year-old chest compressions as Alea began to squeeze the resuscitation bag.

"Come back to us, Emily!" he pleads with the young girl, still performing CPR. "I said I'd take you guys to Disneyland, and you promised to hold my hand inside the Haunted Mansion. You know I'm scared of ghosts!"

Stewart reentered the room with a small army of nurses as Nathan came in with the Crash Cart, A defibrillator and advanced respirator equipment, which he placed next to her bedside then pulled Jason off her bed. A nurse smeared a conductive gel on the defibrillator paddles while the other rubbed them together before introducing a large jolt of electricity to the child's heart, her body violently rose in the air by the current, thankfully the child's heart restarted, then the nurses took over the care of the patient.

"Leave the room!" one of the interns orders, Alea pushes out Stewart while Nathan attempts to drag Jason out of the room to allow the nurses to revive the little girl, the violent boy they fought only days before in tears.

"Let them work," Alea tells him. "They have the best doctors on the East Coast here!" Her words seem to reassure him as it is noticeably easier to get him out of the room.

"Just don't let her die! Please," he sobs. "Don't let her die."

------

"As we drag him out, several doctors rush in," Alea continues the entire kitchen now stopped to hear intently. "Then the head nurse waddles in, obviously one of Jay's many fans."

-------

"What are you doing, young man!" The overweight Nurse Rudd shakes a chubby finger at Delano. "You are supposed to cleaning out the north side Nurses' Station! Instead I find you playing doctor possibly injuring this little girl!"

"He just saved her life, she went into Cardiac-"

"I don't think you should be giving me your diagnosis, Dr. Killpatient!" She yelled at Nathan. "If the three of you don't leave here this instant, I'll call security!"

Jason grabbed the large girthed woman by her ER scrubs. "Shut the **FUCK UP, BITCH! HER HEART STOPPED! IF SHE DON'T SURVIVE THE NIGHT, YOU DON'T EITHER!!"**

Alea, Stewart and Nathan pulled Jason off her and dragged him from the room. **"****SHE BETTER NOT DIE!"** Be bellowed behind him as they dragged him away. **"SHE BETTER NOT DIE OR I'LL MAKE YOUR FAT ASS FAMOUS!!"**

-------

"So the blimp calls the police, and they arrest Iakona. We tried to tell them what happened, but they wouldn't listen to us.

"A few weeks latter and Iakona's in court facing a truck-load of felony charges; Assault, making terrorist threats, resisting arrest, and the most insulting of all, interference with a medical emergency. We all showed up with my dad in court in his behalf. We told the judge what happened, but he wasn't buying it either, until Emily and her mom arrive.

---

"Can you tell the court your name and where you live, honey?"

"Yes, your Judgeship," The little girl says to the old man in the black bed robe. "My name is Emily Rackman, I'm from Hartford, now I'm staying at Ronald McDonald's House on George Street."

"Emily, do you know the difference between a lie and the truth?"

"Yes, your Judgeship, my Momma always says to tell the truth because the truth will set you free, but Jay once said the truth can get you fifteen to twenty. _Fifteen to twenty, what?_"

----

"Well, she explained the same thing we told the judge and he dismisses the charges. In court she told the judge that since she didn't have any brothers or sisters, she considers the four of us part of her 'ohana holo'oko'a, her extended family. So we've been 'ohana ever since."

"What happened to her?" Cyrus asked.

"She died two months later," Nathan replied. "Leukemia complications, they couldn't find a compatible donor."

"Yea, a great kid with her whole life ahead of her dies, while an asshole like me still goes on."

"Jay don't do this again! You know what Sandy and Dr. Rand told us, it wasn't your fault!"

"Yes it is! I should have been able to save her, but I didn't! She should be alive today!" Jason looked over to Jubilee, the only one in the room to have seen him in an argument before. "You want to know why I was an asshole to the X-Men that day? I don't mince words. I don't sugar-coat bad news, and my honest opinion is like an ass-kicking, you ask for it and _I'll give it you!_

"Since the day that little angel died, I have no fear of man, beast, machine or apparition. Hell, I've been living on borrowed time for years. My real friends understand, my enemies don't have shit to hold against me. And if anyone here don't like it, _**FUCK 'EM!"**_

Jay then storms out of the kitchen, shoving the door so hard it knocks all the dishes Stewart was carrying out of his hands. As the dishes fell to the ground, he used his cold powers to freeze everything in mid air, narrowly avoiding crashing and breaking everything. Jason, not knowing or caring, stormed outside.

"Andek Mongole! You could have opened the door softly!" Stewart called after him then appeared in the kitchen. "Alea, I froze the last of the dishes, I –"

One glance around the room told him what just happened, Jono, Cyrus and Angelo wouldn't meet his eyes, Monet looked upset, and Paige and Jubilee looked like they were fighting back tears. "You were telling them about Emily, weren't you?" His American cousin could only nod slightly.

"You have to understand something about Jay," Stewart told the rest of the students. "He's very _compliqué_, complicated," He then turned to Angelo "Look, mon ami, he will never tell you this to your face, so I'll do it now. We are all sorry for what he _DID_, but he would do the same thing again a million times over. I just hope you can accept our apology for not warning you guys he could…" He looked at his cousin and the Admiral's daughter searching for the right words but she shook her head slightly in warning. "well, you don't know yet just what he's capable of, _or why._"

"You just have to give him some space right now," Nathan added. "He's a tough guy to want to like, but since that day he thinks if he doesn't make any friends, he doesn't have to be afraid to lose any more. Right or wrong he would move Heaven and Earth and stand against the gates of Hell itself, and that's just for the few that he does hold that close. You don't want to know what he'd be willing to do to his enemies."

Alea sobbed heavily, fighting back against tears before she spoke, "We know that he can **BE** a first class jerk, but he's a part of our 'ohana so that makes him _**OUR**_ first class jerk! It's stronger than hate, and even more powerful than love.

"As you can tell he took her death extremely hard, and he did not exactly have an easy life growing up. And that's not mentioning the time he spent in juvie. He's going to need some time to calm down so just let him be until he cools off," She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, took a deep breath and regained herself. "Come on Nakana, let's go and thaw out those dishes, Kewalaka, please finish drying the dishes for Iakona, okay?"

--

Unbeknown to each other Agent Nichols and Jason Delano both chose the Biosphere as the place to attempt to quell their anger. Kordel preferring to use the techniques he learned at the Secret Service Training Academy, to calm down before reporting in to the White House about Cyrus' first day, while Jason stormed inside in an attempt to find a more primal way to relieve his stress.

--

"Yes, Mr. President, Cyrus is getting along with his fellow classmates fine." Agent Nichols reported to the Oval Office. "Well, no, Mrs. Parkman he did not announce it to anyone…. Of course they did not recognize him, Mr. Ziegler, these are teenagers, and the only television they watch on a regular basis is video games and DVD rentals….

"No, Mrs. Parkman, in fact when he met the other students he netted some fast friends…. Well, no Mr. President, he is not the youngest student here, but most of the other students average sixteen years old.… No, Mrs. Parkman, the fact I am a Secret Service agent has not been a factor with the facility…. Of course Mr. Director, sir, they have accepted the fact that I am not a mutant….

"No, Colonel Fury, I will be ready to receive both shipments, the first will arrive via a civilian cargo company at 1000-hours, the second will arrive by SHIELD transport at 1200-hours…. Yes, Mr. President, we will be returning to the White House on the 12th as planned…. Yes, sir, thank you, sir…. Have a pleasant evening Mr. President, Mrs. Parkman."

As he powered down his cell phone, he closed eyes and tilted his head to the Biosphere dome, taking account of what he just said to the small Oval Office audience.

_Two lies and one of the stupidest puns I've ever used,_ He pondered. _I wonder what the sentence is for what I just did to POTUS?_ He reopened his eyes and returned the phone to its' case when he heard what sounded like a tree being cut down with an axe.

**

* * *

_End of Chapter Two_**

_**©David D. Amaya 2008**_


	3. Chapter 3

**The "Big Mutant On Campus" Series**  
**By David D. Amaya**

_**Part Two "Stronger Than Hate, More Powerful Than Love"**_  
**_Chapter 3_**

* * *

He storms headstrong into the interior of the biosphere, until an object blocks his path, after five minutes of walking without caution, a tree makes the mistake of blocking his path, and his victim has been chosen.

He does not know its scientific classification. He does not care that the tree is over 100-years-old. He does not give the slightest damn that Special Agent Kordel Nichols is inside and about to place a call to the President of the United States only thirty yards away from him and his wrath. He only sees a face in the bark and with the vigor of a champion fighter training for a Pay-Per-View title match, he begins to land vicious body shots. The _**Pain **_in his bare hands from the rough tree bark, a warm tingle, the _**Pain **_in his heart fueling the Rage in him as if were a living thing. So he nurtures it, keeping the _**Hate **_alive by a deep-burning fire of _**Anger **_that never goes out stoked by violent _**Fury**_.

--

"Mr. Delano, there is a telephone call for you in the Attendance Office."

"So? Hold my calls."

Laughter fills the Science Lab at Jason's smart-alecky remark.

"It is urgent, Mr. Delano. It is from Dr. Rand, Pediatric Hematology Department of -." The teacher doesn't have a chance to end her sentence, Jason bolts like a bat outta hell at hearing the caller's name and sprints to the office, missing the correct door in his haste then picking up the receiver excitedly.

"Yea, it's Jay! What's the news Doc?"

"Jason, we did all the compatibility tests-"

"Stop beatin' around the bush and get to the point! Am I a match?"

"You do meet all compatibility tests for a bone marrow transplant with Emily Rackman, but-"

_"HELL YEA!!!"_ he screamed into the phone with obvious joy. "Have you told her folks yet?"

"No, but there's something I want to talk to you -"

"Save it Doc, I'm gonna run to her stepdad's office and tell him myself! You can finish this there!" He drops the receiver, bolts out the main door in a full sprint headed to an office only a few miles away.

--

Upon arrival he dispenses with the usual decorum of stopping and waiting for the receptionist to announce his arrival, he just burst in as Dale Rackman was talking on the telephone.

"I got GREAT NEWS, Mr. Rackman!"

"Mrs. Reno, I'll have to call you back. **JASON**, I have several important things to do here, if you want you can leave me a message-"

It's about Emily, Mr. Rackman! They -"

They were interrupted by his secretary. "Mr. Rackman, it's a Dr. Rand, Pediatric Hematology Department of -."

"Told you!" Jay said as he hit the intercom button "Patch it through here, if you please!" He then hit the speaker button on the phone so they both could hear the doctor.

"Mr. Rackman?"

"Yea Doc, he's right here! What kept you?"

"Jason!? Did you run all the way to Mr. Rackman's office?"

"Oh, no, I had to stop for a red light. Now you want to tell him or should I?"

"I don't understand what's going on here Jason?"

"Mr. Rackman, this is Dr. Rand. I have some news about Emily-"

"I'm a match! We go in. They take out some raw Jell-O. Insert some bananas and Cool-Whip, spoon feed it into Emily, and she's good as new! I guess we should be packing for that vacation to Disneyland I promised her!"

--

The _**Pain **_ebbs, the power now harnessing all his _**Hate**_. The tree cracks, surrendering to the magnified _**Rage**_, but the _**Hate **_continues the ruthless assault.

Noiseless, its victim can not plead for mercy, only wait until the _**Anger **_subsides. The blows now creating a widening crevice running through the mass of the once majestic living thing, like a sickening scar. And like the sadistic monster it is, the _**Hate **_inflicts more punishment. The tree's crime; existing. The _**Pain**_, now Judge. The _**Anger **_becomes Jury. The _**Rage **_acting as Executioner.

--

Dale leaps from his chair and embraces the young man in front of him, his prayers have been answered in the last place in the world he would have stopped to look. And to think, he once considered banning him from his beloved stepdaughters' room when he saw him in handcuffs.

"Doctor that is wonderful news! Come on, Jason, I'll drive us to the hospital! We'll tell Emily and Sandy together!"

--

Unleashed _**Agony**_, now increasing the blows intensity. The leaves and branches of the victim shaking violently, like as in an earthquake. The scar widening, the wreaking ball blows unmerciful. _**Anger **_unwilling to stop the victim's torment.

--

"Thank you two for coming to my office so quickly," Dr. Abigail Rand greeted the two who entered her office. "There is something we must talk about."

"What's to talk about Dr. Rand?" Dale asked as he took the seat next to Jay. "Is he a match or not?"

"Yes, he is, Mr. Rackman, but there is something about the procedure that needs to be worked out."

"What is it Doc, money?" Jay asks. "I can pay for the operation, cash if you want! The State sent their first Blood Money check! I can't think of a better investment than Emily's growing up!"

"No, Mr. Delano, it is not financial, it is genetic."

"Genetic? I don't understand, Doctor," Dale questioned. "Emily's father is Haitian and Sandi is of the Maori people of New Zealand. We knew it would be difficult in finding a donor."

"What's wrong, Doctor? Am I the wrong mix?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Jason!" Dr. Rand said. "We analyzed your samples for everything, AIDS, SARS, cancer, diabetes, everything. You are a 97% match, but something came up in your lab reports. Look, Mr. Rackman, could you give us a moment alone?"

"No, Doc! Stay in here, Dale. What is it? What's wrong?"

"We should discus this in private-"

_"WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG!?"_

"Jason," The doctor began. "The tests showed positive for a genetic mutation."

"Are you saying he's a mutie, Dr. Rand?"

"Well, _DUH_!" Was the young man's response. "Remember Doc, I told you I was born with six toes on my left foot? _SO_ I have a flaw. I always said if I was created in god's image, I'm not the work of a serious artist!

"But you can still do the transplant right, Doc?"

"No."

"What do you mean '_no'_? This is Emily's life you're talking about!"

--

The creaking noise gets louder, the blows ten-fold stronger than at the outset. The victim's groans of agony attract another set of blue eyes.

--

"I will not allow mutant filth to pollute that little girl's body!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I am not going to allow anything to harm her purity!"

" 'Purity!?' She eats so much junk food, it makes me go into sugar shock! Look, she's not going to grow any more toes, Dale!"

"I am not going to let my daughter receive mutie genes! I'm not letting Emily grow up to be a freak! We are not going through with the transplant, at least not with you, Mutie!"

Jason grabs the much larger man by his lapels and pulls him to his feet.

"_THINK, YOU STUPID FUCK!_ This is Emily's only shot at making it past her next birthday! Don't you understand!?"

The former Texas Christian linebacker seized the newly exposed mutant by his throat. "I am not going to allow your tainted mutie blood inside my little girl! I'd rather let God take her now than to let her become a dirty mutie bastard, like you!!"

--

The speed of the blows rising with its strength. _**Pain, Anger,**_ and _**Rage**_, all working and form into one. The blows change slightly as now new feelings begins to add their poison to the physical vessel of _**Hate**_.

--

"_**Notice to all Nurses, Doctors, and Lab Technicians, **_

Everything that has;

1. Expired during the _Clinton Administration._

2. Sprouted.

And/Or,

3. _**instigated armed revolution.**_

…Have been thrown out of this refrigerator."

The puzzled medical resident, Amy Cho, reads the Post-It note aloud, a small part of her hopes her yogurt has survived the purge. A larger part hopes that Dr. Jackson's Budget Gourmet collection does not. "Jason, did you write this?"

"Yea, Doc." Was the monotone reply from the young man moping the Doctor's Lounge. "I cleaned it this morning."

"You have been here over six hours. Why don't you take a break and go see Emily?" she suggests to him. "She's been asking about you since you didn't come in at all yesterday."

"I can't," he replies still mopping the floor his eyes not meeting the young doctors'. "I'll finish mopping then I've got to go."

"'Get going?' Are you not the same guy who saved her life dressed in a Roman toga?"

"**LOOK**!" he slams the mop handle against the counter hard enough to snap it in two. "I can't see her!" He closes his eyes and takes slow breaths to keep his anger away from the innocent young doctor. "It's a long story, I … I just… If you see her tell her I said 'hi.'"

--

Despite the red tinge _**Hate **_has chosen to color its vision, the physical vessel of _**Hate **_recalls everything Jason did after leaving the hospital that night. He rode his motorcycle to the parts store to buy a new fuel filter, then stopped by the mall to get a new memory card for his cell phone. Then catching the last period of the Ice Dogs game against the Gulls on the internet, before going to bed, And the last words Dale told him in front of Dr. Rand yesterday afternoon still ringing in his ears…

----------

"If you breathe one word of this to Sandi or Emily, I'm going to tell my Friends of Humanity group that Alea, Stewart and Nathan are all mutants!"

_**"WHAT THE FUCK'S GONE WRONG WITH YOU, DALE!? THEY AIN'T MUTANTS!"**_

"They WILL BE, unless you keep your big mouth shut! You never were a match! And you, Dr. Rand. You can't repeat any of this, can you!?"

"No," She replied, flabbergasted at the events that are taking place in her office. "It is a medical condition and I cannot divulge it, BUT!" She points a stern finger at Mr. Rackman. "If ANY harm befalls these kids or Mr. Delano, I WILL inform the proper authorities you threatened their lives!"

* * *

The next day Jason went to school, just like any other day. A dull trigonometry lecture he could not say awake for, but records on his MP3 player anyway. A test in American History he easily passes. Just another day until his AP English class.

"Jason Delano please report to the Principal's Office immediately."

"The money was all gone before I got there, I swear!" he remarks as he exits the class getting the intended round of laughs and giggles.

"Mr. Delano, you have an urgent telephone call." The Principal's secretary tells him, handing him the receiver.

"I hope whatever this is, it's worthless," he tells the other end of the line. "'Cause you got me out of a mind numbing lecture to get this."

The caller could be heard fighting back tears. "Jason?" the caller spoke between sobs.

"Amy!? _What's wrong!?_"

"It's Emily," She broke off sobbing. "She passed on this morning."

* * *

The speed and strength finally reaching its crescendo. The new poisons; _**Grief, Sorrow,**_ and most toxic of all, _**Guilt**_. The victim's scar now runs the full length of the tree. _**Hate **_scenes the death of the victim nearing. The physical vessel of _**Hate **_pounding its victim with pile driver blows, it's weapons of destruction merely a blur, until all the toxins cause the final death throes. The tree is split horizontally, the lush treetop bows to earth. Branches once reaching one hundred feet into the air, extending shade for generations of Academy Students. The simple beauty that was once an ideal picnic location, now in ruin.

_**Hate **_calms another innocent victim.

Then in a perverted encore only _**Hate **_could savor, the physical vessel it used for its pleasure, sees for the first time what its memories accomplished, _**Hate **_exits the vessel, leaving the exhausted form _**Regret **_in which to play with.

The emotions swell into one as Jason takes in full account of what he just did. He destroyed a living thing in the memory of sweet, innocent child. Silent tears stream down his cheeks as he falls to his knees before his victim and mutters the only words that he can form.

"Forgive me, Emily," he croaks placing a battered hand on the trunk of the dead tree. "I didn't mean to kill it…

_"…or you."_

Wiping the tears with the back of his battered hands, he turns only to come face to face with a figure clad in black leather. Ruby red skin and a pair of large blue eyes, vivid and questioning stand before him.

"If you're wondering about what I did," He softly addresses the figure before him. "Please, it's a long story and I can't stand to hear it told twice."

She just looks at him then the tree silently. "Oh, I'm Jay, I'm one of the new students living here now." He extends a battered hand to her. She shakes her head softly and extends her hands, palms up in an attempt to wordlessly explain why she is afraid to touch him.

Although he does not quite understand, he guesses she does not to shake hands. "It's okay if you don't want to shakes hands with me. I must be sending off the negative energies. I wouldn't want to be near me right now, either."

Suddenly leaves rustled behind them, the girl had a look of surprise at the noise, so Jason settled into a muy Thai stance ready to fight despite the thrashing he just subjected his fists to. But out from the path came Agent Nichols, like the young girl, drawn obviously to the sound of the tree getting battered.

"Mr. Delano, what just happened-" the Secret Service agent pauses when he realizes that the teenager is not alone.

She looks at the dark haired man next to the blond teenager. She notes he is carrying a gun, but the way Jason stood out of his fighting stance told her he did not mean them harm.

Not wanting to relive the story again he sidesteps his question. "I was just talking to…" He pauses then he addresses her. "Hell, I didn't even catch your name?"

"That's Penny" another voice called out. Jubilee, Artie, Leech and Alea walked into the clearing, Jubilee held a bowlful of apples and offered one to the wordless blue-eyed girl, she smiled and Jubilee then carefully wrapped her arms around her in a big hug. Penance tried carefully not to cut her with her razor sharp hands. "She can't talk. Penny this is Jay," She pointed to the Hawaiian girl next to Artie. "Over there is his girlfriend, Alea. And the tall guy over there is Secret Agent, Dude, some call him Kordel, there's this really cool kid that calls him Lariat, don't worry Penny they're all living here now.

"Guys, this is Penance, her skin is diamond hard and razor sharp, that's why she don't shake hands. She lives here in the biosphere with Artie and Leech." Jubilee then saw for the first time the tree that Jason just fell to the ground. "_**Oh damn!**_" she exclaimed as she pointed to the broken tree. "You weren't kidding, Alea!" The Hawaiian then noticed the carnage as her heart fell.

"Oh, Jay," she gave him a caring hug knowing the emotions that led him to destroy a tree. Then she took his head in her hands and leaned him to her, pressing their foreheads together, looking him eye to eye.

"Jason, you really have to stop doing things like this," she tilted her head towards the broken tree. "This is not helping. You have got to stop feeling guilty about Emele." She softly kissed him on the forehead.

"We all miss her, Iakona, she will be in our hearts Mau Loa, but you know she would really hate it when you break things, the one thing she loved about you was how you always tossed aside that kanunu attitude and made her enjoy the world around her. You know what her Makuahine told you, you have to stop feeling guilty about enjoying life without her."

"But-"

"Shh," she puts two fingers to his lips "We'll talk about it later, okay, Ku'uipo." She turned to where the rest of the group was examining the fallen tree. "Jubilee, can you take Iakona inside and ask Stewart to look at his hands for me?"

Jubilee was about to protest but Alea sent her a telepathic message. _Look, I owe you one, alright Jubes! It's just I have to talk to Agent Nichols about Jay, and I don't need either one of them overreacting again tonight, remember he just killed a tree because he thinks he responsible for the loss of a little girl!_

"Okay, Island Gal," she said grabbing Jay by the wrist. "Come on slugger, it's back to the MedLab for you." And she led Jason out of the Biosphere and back to the mansion, while Artie, Leech and Penance headed deep into the Biosphere towards the tree house, leaving Kordel alone with the Admiral's Daughter.

"Iakona's kãhuli makana allows him to store all the physical energy he uses in a fight." She told him. "For every punch he lands, and every hit he takes, he gets stronger. And as you can see he then hits harder."

Agent Nichols was still examining the broken tree, as the argument the White Queen made to expel Jason and against the Secret Service agent's reaction after seeing the teenager take on Wolverine earlier that day quickly resurface in his mind.

"Ms. Frost made a good argument for removing him from the school, and to be honest, I'm inclined to agree with her assessment of his temper. Has he tried Anger Management courses?"

"Iakona's idea of anger management is to bottle it up and break it over his enemies," Alea told him as she looked over Jason's handiwork with a heavy heart.

"May I ask what made him so angry that he destroyed this tree?"

"It's a long story 'Ãkena Keneka," She began. "You see there's this little girl from Hartford…. Oh hell, this story is much too painful to tell twice in one night."

She reached for both his ears with her hands and telepathically replayed the story she told the others in the kitchen in the fraction of a second, directly to his mind. Agent Nichols, still not accustomed to mental telepathy, lost his balance and fell to his knees. In the overload of memories, sounds and sights of the other students' reactions feed directly to his memory he felt as though like he was there, but only after the feeling of vertigo subsided. Alea helped him to his feet.

"I'm, SO, **SO** sorry about that 'Ãkena Keneka!" She said sheepishly. "But if you are going to be living with three telepaths, you'd better get used to it."

"I know," He replied still a bit sluggish. "Sean has been telling me that ever since we met." He shook his head and the story of Emily Rackman made some sense of the violence that had taken place. "He blames himself for the death of a little girl because he did not undergo a bone marrow transplant? It takes time to prepare for a surgery with someone so young, it is not his fault."

"We've been telling him that for about a year, but his response is that he should have undergone compatibility tests earlier." Alea said. "Dr. Rand told us that it would have taken six months to even be sure if it worked or not.

"It's like Stewart said, you don't know yet just what he's capable of, or why. He's complicated, but a part of our ohana holo'oko'a, and now that means you, Cyrus, and the rest of the students and even the X-Men. You just have to give him time to get to know everyone." She took a deep breath. "I guess we should be heading back to the mansion now."

They walked the short path to the entrance to the Biosphere greeting the New England sky. "I guess this is kinda a weird first day for you too, Agent Nichols?"

"Well there have not been any explosions, _yet._" He replied. "_**But the night is young.**_"

**

* * *

**

_End of Part two_

Part Three of the "BMOC" Series "Bridges To Burn, Crosses To Bear." will be coming in the new year.

_**©David D. Amaya 2008**_


End file.
